AUSTIN — Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) today announced the filing of the Teaching Over Testing Act, a bill designed to radically reduce the impact of standardized testing on Texas’ students, educators, and taxpayers.

“Texas is a diverse state, but if there’s anything people from Amarillo to Brownsville and El Paso to Beaumont and people from both political parties can agree on, it’s that STAAR is a disservice to the students we will one day rely on as our next generation of leaders.”

House Bill 1333, dubbed the Teaching Over Testing Act, aims to move the focus in public education away from standardized testing and back to the classroom through four critical reforms:

Allowing school districts to select alternative test providers

Reducing the number of tests

Removing STAAR scores from teacher evaluations

Reducing the weight of STAAR scores in A-F ratings

The bill has already received bipartisan support from all across the Lone Star State and has been joint-authored so far by Reps. Rodney Anderson (R-Grand Prairie), Joe Deshotel (D-Beaumont), and Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston).

“I’m thrilled by the bipartisan support this legislation is receiving,” Rep. Isaac continued. “It’s time we shift the focus of public education away from standardized testing and back to the classroom where it belongs.”

A one-pager explaining HB 1333 in more detail is available here. You can view the press conference in full by clicking the video below.

Representing Blanco and Hays counties, Rep. Isaac has served House District 45 in the Texas Legislature since 2011. He is a member of the Economic and Small Business Development, Environmental Regulation, and Local and Consent Calendars committees and is chair of the Subcommittee on Small Business. He lives in Drippings Springs with his wife, Carrie, and two sons.